Reading Services ( formerly Braille Production)

ChildVision transcribes all text books for visually impaired children attending mainstream or special schools in Ireland.

In 2014/15 we transcribed 3,500 text books into customised braille, large print, text files and DAISY files. With its Online Bookshelf, National Braille Production also provides a free download facility to its registered users.

Customised Braille, Large Print, text files and DAISY books

National Braille Production at ChildVision was established to meet the educational needs of children with a visual impairment attending either mainstream or special education at both primary and secondary level. Our Braille and alternative format transcription service was officially opened on the 1st of September 2000.

It is a national service which provides access to educational material by transcriptions into a range of formats accessible to children with a visual impairment. The formats currently catered for are: Braille, tactile diagrams, MOON, Large Print, DAISY books (accessible mp3 files) and customised text files for use with either speech output, magnification software or on different electronic braille output devices. All transcriptions follow recognised national and international guidelines.

We provide a demand-led and free service, open to all children with a registered visual impairment in the Republic of Ireland. National Braille Production started work in 2000 and provided 35 transcribed books for 17 children. In September 2015, we work for 740 children and young adults in both special and mainstream primary and secondary schools. The staff are chosen for their expertise in various areas, such as mathematics and foreign languages and are all trained to updated and Standard English Braille transcriber level. We have made great progress but we are always happy to hear how we can further improve the service.

Our transcription service is linked with universities, assistive technology providers and braille production centres abroad to ensure the quality and continual upgrading of services. Please note that orders can be placed by the visiting teachers for visually impaired only. For further information please contact braille@childvision.ie or call 01 837 3635 and ask for braille production.

Since January 2012, we operate a second, small production office at ChildVision Cork.

Online Bookshelf

We operate an online download facility for braille and secure DAISY files. Since the successful pilot project run in 2011/2012, the Online Bookshelf has become a part of the services offered here. This facility allows a child or young adult with a visual impairment to independently download the secure file of a book required in a particular accessible format. For registration with the service please contact your/your child’s Visiting Teacher.

3-D Printing

The latest addition to the range of services provided is an on-demand 3-D printing service. National Braille Production have introduced some “mathematical” objects (pyramid, cube) to the materials provided to children who read braille. Based on their feedback and their teachers’ comments, this service will be developed over the next years.

UEB

UEB stands for Unified English Braille, an updated braille code which was adopted in Ireland in December 2013. It is currently being introduced to the Irish education system and all new primary school braille materials will be provided in UEB by September 2016. From September 2017 it will be introduced to secondary schools.

The Irish National Braille and Alternative Format Authority (INBAF) voted unanimously in favour of UEB prior to its introduction and UEB has been fully acknowledged by the Department of Education and Skills (DES). The founding members of INBAF include National Braille Production Childvision, NCBI and Arbour Hill.

Ireland is a member state of the International Council of English Braille (ICEB) and the adoption of UEB brought Ireland in line with other members of ICEB, namely; the UK, New Zealand, Australia, the USA, South Africa, Canada and Nigeria.

“The adoption of UEB means that blind children in Ireland will now learn the new global, unified English braille code. Exchanging books and files with other English speaking countries will be much easier and the internet and social media will also be at their fingertips, as all modern braille devices now support UEB.” says Ilka Staeglin, manager of National Braille Production, ChildVision and INBAF’s current chairperson.

UEB is fully based on the existing English braille code (Standard English Braille or SEB), with some significant changes. These changes will take away ambiguity from many difficult braille signs.

In practical terms, the implementation of UEB will continue over the next years via the school system, as well as the Library Service at NCBI. DES and INBAF have set up a steering group to oversee the schedule of the implementation and to ensure that the transition will be very smooth for all.